Umbra de Ciphra
by Spartan111MS
Summary: Saito is sent into Halkenginia, only he isn't what he seems and he's not alone as well. Their presence will change the fate of the world and soon they will be joined by others as well.A/N This fiction has been put on hold until backstory fiction have been completed. Backstory 1: I don't want to be hearing any griping. /story/18311/Lucem-de-Tenebris-et-Umbra
1. It Begins

**Unknown Planet**

**Continent of Halkeginia**

**Kingdom of Tristain**

Over the lush, rolling, green hills, there lies a distant mountain range. Only these mountains seem to contain vast forests and fields of flowers rather than snowcaps. Their majestic beauty in the background of the area only magnified by the rising sun,… but therein the vast amounts of greens, blues, and reds lies a mass of grey and crimson. Only, the vast structure does not mar the landscape, instead it seems to complement the background, a shining diamond within the sea of green.

The castle had five tall towers that were aligned on the corners of its vast walls in a pentagonal shape. In the center lies the main building, a monumental spire that projects its presence throughout the small valley.

Only, it is within one of the wall's towers that one of our main characters lies asleep on her bed. Her small frame is surrounded by the pure white sheets with only her pink hair exposed to the light streaming through her window. To any observer she would be but a delicate flower yet to bloom, to those that know her, she is their constant amusement. So as she awakens from her light slumber and prepares for her day, she can only continue through her preparations in a half-awake manner.

Once she is finished, she is wide awake and semi-alert as she picks up her last item…a wand.

_Welcome to the Tristain Institute of Magic!_

**Planet Earth**

**Japan**

A young man walked down a busy street on his way to retrieve a personal item of his. To all that passed him, they only saw a teenager on a walk either to a destination or to his home. Though nothing is ever as it seems.

Saito Hiraga was, in all outward appearances, a simple young adult trying to live his life day by day. He was going to Akihabara to pick up his laptop computer as he had dropped it off recently to be repaired. A laptop is possibly the most important electronic in a young man's life, only…that particular laptop was anything but normal.

(-)

Saito walked down the street towards the shop mentally checking things off as he examined his surroundings. The shop owner was the same one that he had seen on his way to drop the laptop off. The small food and newspaper stand owners were the same.

Saito sighed as he walked, slightly slowing his pace. His recent activities had left him tired out and mentally strained. This trip to the repair shop only served to further strain his already frayed nerves. He stood in front of the shop wondering what the hell he was thinking in taking this last assignment.

{-}

He had just arrived back home from a 'foreign exchange' program to Germany and was making the most of his time home. He was eating breakfast at his favorite little café when the waitress left him an extra coffee. He simply glanced at the extra cup before returning to his own and continued reading the short novel that he had picked up at the airport. He expected the waitress to realize her mistake and return to deliver the coffee to its rightful consumer, but that never occurred.

He glanced once again at the cup and froze in shock. On the side of the cup was a small patch that depicted a griffon fighting a phoenix. His eyes quickly darted around the café as he tried to spot any familiar faces either friendly or otherwise only to spot a man in light suit exiting the café, but it wasn't the suit that caught Saito's attention, rather it was the movements that the man was making with his hand.

His fingers and thumb were tapping their points together in a recognizable pattern. He immediately chose to retrieve that coffee cup and its accompanying saucer. As soon as he had both in hands he felt around until he found a small bulge under the cup itself. He sighed and quickly pressed on the bulge only for it to come off in his hand.

He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of glasses which he slipped the now detached patch of fake porcelain onto the frames. He picked up his novel and rested his arm on the table as he brought the coffee cup to his lips, pretending to read.

He took a sip of the coffee and waited as the nano-machines that were mixed in with the drink verified his identity. Had they registered him as an unauthorized person attempting to steal the data, they would have released an enhanced version of Potassium Cyanide easily 5x more powerful than the kind used by most intelligence agencies.

Once they verified that he was not an imposter, the message immediately projected itself over the left lense of his glasses. The second he finished reading the report he choked on the coffee. The assignment was almost too crazy for words. He was about to reject it when a P.S. came on afterward stating that he would have backup on the mission in case things got a bit rough. It wasn't until he saw the team's designation that he choked.

_**XS-121**_

Which led to his current predicament.

{-}

'_Oh, what have I gotten myself into now?'_Saito asked himself letting out a sigh despair.

He walked into the shop with a slight smile on his face and immediately made note of the 3 people in the immediate area who were all watching him. He approached the counter and placed his receipt down and slid it over to the clerk, as well as giving his name and phone number as confirmation.

The clerk nodded with a smile and moved into the back room and one of the assistants moved to take her spot at the counter, as the other one stayed sitting in chair watching the soccer game.

Saito noted all the possible options he had for cover in the area as he lowered the barriers around his mind to contact his long-time friend and ally who only ever went by the code-name 'Ghost'.

'_Ghost…you've got my back right?'_He asked somewhat anxiously, as he remembered the specifics in the report which made him doubt his ability to handle the two remaining men in the room.

'_Always, but remember comrade, we can still die…but the first time is always the most painful.'_

'_Got it…just remember that I'm probably going to still be in here when the laptop goes off.'_

'_Don't worry, we've got you covered,'_came the reply.

Saito braced himself as the female clerk once again opened the door and started to step out of the back room with his laptop. He glanced up at her and gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he reached for his watch. The young woman's eyes widened as she started to call out a warning to her companions when the extra battery that was with the laptop erupted in white smoke that quickly filled the area.

(-)

Saito was once again walking down the street with his laptop in his backpack as he reviewed the results of the mission.

Once the mini smoke bomb had gone off, he had quickly vaulted over the counter and kicked the man in front of him using his momentum and leverage to launch him into the woman. When her comrade slammed into her, the woman dropped the laptop and it was sent flying into Saito's waiting arms. He quickly stood up and once more vaulted over the counter only to be faced with the 'soccer' man who was holding a combat knife.

Saito threw himself to the side as the man lunged at him only to feel a sharp sting in neck before the void enveloped him. Saito looked up from his position on the floor and saw the man lying next him with a knife protruding from just below his skull. He tried to scramble to his feet when a rough hand grabbed his jacket and pulled him to his feet. He was temporarily staring into the goggles and hood of his backup before he was unceremoniously thrown out the door of the computer repair shop.

He quickly got to his feet as the sounds of gunfire and explosions erupted from the shop. Stopping only for a newspaper he walked quickly to the nearest intersection and started to walk in circles and random shapes to both see if and lose anyone that following him.

Once he was sure that he clear, he opened his mind again to contact Ghost.

'_Everything alright back there?'_

'_This place was almost too easy for my tastes, and they call this their staging ground for terrorist attacks against Japan? Might as well send complete stra…hurgh!'_

Saito could hear the gasp of pain from his friend and mentor before the connection was severed. As he tried desperately to reestablish contact with him, he got a short message on his phone.

_Took a hit from a lucky shot of a dead man of all things, the Medi-Gel and Bio-foam already patched me up so don't worry, I'll see you back at the safe-house. Couldn't risk the mental feedback affecting you._

Saito gave a small _huph_ of relief and continued until he once again came to the café, only this time he took a seat inside in one of the booths.

{-}

**Back at the institute of magic**

**Earth Towers**

**Ground Floor Classroom**

"My name is Mrs. Chevreuse, and I'm a new teacher here at Tristain Academy of Magic. My element is earth." the new teacher introduced herself.

"My nickname is The Red Earth Chevreuse. I'll be giving lectures on earth magic this year."

Apparently some students aren't listening as some boys are asking a busty redhead for a date.

"So can anyone tell me what the four basic elements are?"

A blonde boy then raises his hand, which is holding a rose, then stands up.

"Fire, water, earth and wind." the blonde boy answered dramatically. "And what a coincidence. My element is earth, just like yours, Missus." He ended arrogantly.

"My nickname is The Bronze Guiche de Gramont." he bowed a little before placing his rose in his mouth then flings his hair. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Gramont." Mrs. Chevreuse replied.

"Earth is an important magical element, since it governs the creation of all things." she explained to the class.

She then picks out three pebbles from her sleeve then places it on the table.

"And to make you understand that, I'll start out by having you all mastering alchemy."

She then takes out her wand and casts a spell on the pebbles. The pebbles then shake a bit as it glows brightly and turns from stone to an orange-copper colored metal.

The class is in awe as they see the result. The redhead leans forward excitedly with her mouth gaping slightly.

"Is that gold?" she asked.

"No, it's brass." The teacher replies almost jokingly.

The redhead then sits down put off as the gold turned out to be non-expensive brass.

"Now let's have someone give it a try." Mrs. Chevreuse said as she replaced the brass pebbles with another set of pebbles.

She then looks around and spots a certain pink-headed girl who is writing on her personal book.

"You." She points at the girl which caused the rest of the class to gasp. "You up there."

"What's your name?" she asked when the girl looks up before standing from her seat.

"Louise de La Valliere." Louise answered.

One chubby blonde calls out the teacher and suggests not picking her, which the rest of the class adamantly agrees. Then the redhead stands up and strongly said that she would rather do the spell cast rather than let Louise do it.

That annoys Louise and shouts that she'll do it. The class then gasps yet again as some move away and attempt to gleam some protection under the table and away from the teacher's table as Louise walks down the steps. One blue-haired girl, who was reading a book the whole time, simply walks out of the classroom without looking up from her book, and closes the door.

Louise then approaches the front of the table, and Mrs. Cherveuse instructs her how to perform the spell. As Louise concentrates some and casts the spell the pebbles then shake a bit before glowing with increasing intensity and emitting the various colors of the rainbow.

**Central Tower**

**Principal's Office**

"Looks like we're off to another safe start this year." an old man said happily.

"Yes, it's most pleasing." a female voice replied.

"Ah, as the principal, I can't wish for anything better." the old man continued.

He then takes out a smoking pipe from under his desk and starts smoking. The secretary then pulls out her wand and casts a spell that causes the pipe to float away from the old man.

"Oh boy."

"Taking care of your health is part of the secretary's job, Lord Osman." the secretary reminded the principal as the pipe landed on her stack of papers."

"You're going to take away one of the few pleasures an elder has, Miss Longueville?" Lord Osman said as he moved behind Miss Longueville's chair and started caressing her bottom.

"Please stop touching my hip." Miss Longueville, the woman with long green hair wearing a pair of glasses.

Lord Osman quickly releases his hand from her hips and starts acting like a person with mental issues.

"Please stop acting like you've gone senile every time you're caught behaving like that." Miss Longueville annoyingly said as she continued to write down on the paper.

"Oh, by the way, tomorrow is the day when the second years summon their familiar spirits, isn't it?"

_"Damn old man."_ Miss Longueville whispered.

"A familiar is both a lifetime servant and friend, as well as your eyes and ears in the world." Lord Osman said as a white mouse crawls out of Miss Longueville's skirt then jumps to the floor and runs away.

The mouse then climbs up Lord Osman 's hand as he stands up, then looks at the mouse.

"My familiar spirit, Motsognir, has been with me for a long time."

Lord Osman then places a treat before his familiar then the mouse squeaks.

"Oh I see, white. White as snow you say."

Miss Longueville blushes and straightens up as she closes her legs.

"Mhmm. I think Miss Longueville would look better in lacy black rather than plain white cotton, wouldn't you agree?" Lord Osman comments as his familiar eats the treat.

Miss Longueville then appears behind Lord Osman with a vein popping out of her forehead.

"Lord Osman, if you do that again, I'll report you to the royal palace." Miss Longueville told him.

Lord Osman then faces her, much to Miss Longueville's surprise, then opens his eyes wide open. He is trying to intimidate Miss Longueville.

"Don't get so angry about having your underwear peeped. If you do, you'll lose your chance to get married."

Miss Longueville didn't take it VERY lightly and starts kicking Lord Osman on the floor.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Lord Osman pleads. "Really forgive me."

Then without warning, a classroom from one of the corners of the academy blows up in smoke as the ground shakes.

Miss Longueville stops kicking Lord Osman as she is surprised by the explosion.

"What was that?" Lord Osman asked with a serious tone.

"It's probably _her_ again."

"The third born girl of the Valliere family?"

**Classroom (Formerly still in good shape)**

Smoke and rubble filled the classroom with students strewn all over the place, and thankfully, knocked out. As the smoke clears, Louise stands up with her uniform riddled with scratches and holes, her wand destroyed, and her face with a little dirt.

The students then start waking up and are surprised that they're still alive. The redhead then quickly sits up and smacks the table with her fist and angrily looks at Louise.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Looks like I screwed up a little bit." Louise replied as she takes out a handkerchief and wipes the dirt off of her face, apparently unaffected by the redhead's anger.

"What! How is this "little"?" the chubby blonde asked.

"Your percentage of success is zero!" Guiche shouted.

"You Zero Louise!" the redhead added angrily.

Louise continues to wipe off the dirt from her face and ignores their rants. She then looks down to the floor where Mrs. Chevreuse is lying unconscious.

_Later in the Evening_

**Louise's Room**

She lies on her bed, dressed in her white nightgown, and is hating herself. Early on after the explosion in her class, she made a bet with the redhead named Kirche for tomorrow's Springtime Summoning. She said, out of pride, that she will summon the most beautiful and strongest familiar that even all of the other's familiars combined won't match it.

She truly hates herself.

'I really shouldn't have said that.' She cried into her pillow. 'I wish the Founder Brimir will hear my prayer.'

**Back on Earth**

**Café **

(-)

Ghost sat down in the small booth and was slowly sipping from a mocha latte as he looked at the young man sitting across from him. Saito was currently one of his organizations most recent members, but also one of its best when he got into his zone, but right now he was too busy surfing the net on his now repaired laptop to bother with the slightly wounded man in front of him.

Ghost was usually in armor when he took on an assignment like this, but this time he had had to go in plainclothes with only a mask and some goggles to cover his features. A hulking suit of futuristic looking armor would have only caused too much attention to rain down on the scene. He wasn't surprised that he had gotten injured as he usually purposefully got into harm's way to protect a team-mate. In this case, he had had one new member on his support team and stepped in the path of a bullet that would have nailed her square in the chest. Considering what he was though, it wasn't like a mere bullet to the gut was going to stop him. Besides those facts, the bullet wound was nothing but a fading scar by now due to the combined effects of the Gel, Foam, and his own abilities.

Ghost took a long look at Saito as he ordered more coffee, and wondered just what the kid's life would have been like, had he not met him. Though before those thoughts could progress, Ghost shook his head and focused on not thinking about things that were not meant to be.

He stared down into the dregs of his mocha when he heard his friend and apprentice gasp in shock. Ghost was already out of the booth and had his sidearm half out of its holster before he realized the lack of reaction that was happening.

{-}

Saito could only stare at the sudden burst of light that revealed a glowing green portal of energy. He had barely registered that fact the Ghost was already up and ready to fight. Saito closed his computer and stuffed it in his bag, before calling to the waitress for their check. It wasn't until a full minute of gaping at the portal had passed before he noticed something very odd.

He looked around the café and watched as people casually went about their business, without being the slightest bit disturbed by the new development that was happening right in front of them.

"Um…Ghost?" Saito asked almost hesitantly.

"Yeah, I see it too…hang on a sec…"

Ghost relaxed his stance somewhat, but stayed wary of the portal as he walked towards the waitress that had been serving them only moments before. He waved his hand in front of her face only for her to look _through_ him at the booth with a confused expression. She walked over to the booth and started to pick up the dishes as she looked around for something.

'_The Check!'_

Saito quickly placed some money on the table to pay for their drinks, and watched as it took a few moments for the woman to register the money on the table. She looked shocked and glanced around almost fearfully at the money that had practically appeared out of nowhere. This shocked both men as they tried to puzzle out what was going on. Then it struck them…literally.

(-)

"_RARGH!"_

Ghost spun quickly to face the source of the roar as he yanked his pistol from its holster. His eyes flew wide as he recognized the source of the sound. It was a skeleton from his past and was currently standing a good bit from the store front.

'_A Van? How in all of creation did that thing manage to get here?'_

Ghost moved to quickly intercept the 7 foot beast as it began to charge towards the window. He was almost at the door when a waitress moved into his path. Ghost started to jump sideways and nearly avoided running into her. He could only watch with astonishment as his arm phased straight through the poor girl's head.

'_Impossible, I haven't phased out yet, so I shouldn't be able to phase through anyone yet,'_Ghost thought quickly as he tried to figure out what was going on, _'did that light have anything to do with this? I didn't feel any of the energy fluctuations associated with an interdimensional portal being opened.'_

He reached out to throw open the door when he phased through that as well. He started to think of possible solutions to the problem when his mind immediately switched over to fight time to combat the current threat. Though considering the fact that no one was reacting to the huge hulking monster of death he concluded that it was suffering from the same effects that plagued him.

(-)

Saito watched wide-eyed at the appearance of the beast as well as the fact that he had just watched Ghost pass straight through one of the unfortunate waitresses that happened to be in his way. He unfroze just enough to realize that maybe the upcoming battle would not affect the people around them, and the fact that the green portal seemed to be pulling at his leg. He could feel the dull throbbing that was almost begging him to approach it.

He shook off the feeling as he heard several more roars coming from different directions as more of the monsters appeared seemingly out of thin air and charged him. Reaching for his sidearm he jumped to the side and started to move for the door when his hand felt nothing but empty air.

'_Stupid…my sidearm is back at the base so all I've got with me is my blade!'_

He quickly yanked his blade from its sheathe under his arm and, like Ghost, phased straight through the storefront windows. He rolled as he landed and quickly got his feet as he turned to meet his foes knife at the ready.

(-)

Ghost could only watch as several more Van appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to attack Saito. His concentration lapsed for only an instant, but that was still enough for the Van to rake its claws through his jacket. He was shocked back into action and grabbed the limb before it could move away, then he proceeded to sever the tendons that connected the Van's bicep to its should and the tricep from his elbow.

As the Van cried out in pain and attempted to get another slash in, Ghost used the momentum of the attack to spin the Van past him, and quickly drove his blade deep into its kidney. Then using the remaining momentum, Ghost kicked the Van away and dived sideways, releasing the freezing knot that had been developing in his chest as he went.

By the time the Van had turned around to face its foe once again in a blood frenzy, it was met not by a human in a jacket, but by a cloaked figure that radiated an aura of danger and fear.

(-)

Ghost opened his eyes once as the feeling of a cold breeze passes over him. He could see a slight haze in front of him, which meant that his hood and mask were once again in place, along with the almost taught and silky feeling that meant that his cloak and light armor were on as well. He smiled as looked at the soon to be dead Van that continued to stand defiantly before him.

He reached out with his mind and found the spark of energy among the heated bodies that was his blade. His light smile soon turned to a cruel one as he solidified his connection to the blade and channeled a bolt of energy through the blade and into the wounded beast. He watched as the van jerked slightly before its maw opened into a silent roar as it disintegrated.

He looked over to Saito who was, amazingly, currently holding his own against the Van who had surrounded him. Ghost watched in surprise as Saito quickly dispatched two of the Van before dodging away from the others.

Ghost tried to take a step forward to assist his apprentice, when a sharp pang of pain suddenly erupted from him chest and he felt most of his power drain away.

'_What the…'_

Ghost dropped to his hands and knees and felt his arms shake as he tried to support himself. He felt drained to the point where his vision started to get blurry, and his breathing was labored. He looked up to see how Saito was doing and gave a sharp intake of breath. Saito's form was glowing slightly, and he could feel the power that was rolling off of him in waves.

'_Did the fragment activate…but how…it wasn't supposed to reach maturity until he was a fully fledged adult!'_

He glanced over to where the portal was still waiting, slowly bobbing and pulsing in the air.

'_It must have something to do with portal! …but there's only one way to find out,'_he thought quickly before he made his decision.

'_Oh well…if I need too, I'll just teleport us back once I recover…or if I can't, one of the others will come to bring us back.'_He thought with finality_._

Ghost stretched his mind towards Saito as he pulled his knife from the ashes of the Van. He could see, in his mind's eye, that Saito was brimming with power, but most of it was concentrated within his right hand, in fact, it almost seemed to be radiating from his hand.

'_Saito!'_

'_What is it?'_

'_I need you to lead the remaining Van into the portal…'_

'_The hell,…do you even know where it leads?'_His mind practically screamed back.

'_No I don't, but we need to get somewhere where we aren't phasing through everything and can use the environment to our advantage.'_ Ghost implored upon him.

'_Got it…you can bring us back right?'_

'_Probably,'_replied Ghost with a mental shrug as he drained the energy that he had stored in the blade. _'Anyway, it'll have to do for now because I don't even want to think what the Van are going to do with these people once the Phase wears off.'_

'_Good point…'_

Saito looked over to where Ghost was crouched down and immediately hightailed it for the portal and jumped in. The Van quickly followed, but before they could enter, the portal changed hues to become a dark purple. Immediately after, Ghost jumped through himself as the portal turned light green again.


	2. The Middle Dimension

**Kingdom of Tristain**

**Institute of Magic**

**Courtyard**

_Minutes before Van encounter on Earth_

Out in the open yard of the Magic Institute is a group of students awaiting the ritual that will help guide and shape them during their lives as nobles. The tension and excitement in the air was almost palpable and anyone could see the bright and expectant faces of the students…all except for one.

Louise had spent most of the night worrying and attempting to overcome her fear of the challenge that she herself had so blatantly proposed the day before in a flash of arrogance to her Germanian rival. So now, like last night, she was praying and hoping, practically begging to the heavens, that her familiar be able to outmatch the others.

"The day has finally arrived for the summoning ritual," exclaimed Professor Colbert, his bald head gleaming in the bright sunlight. "This is the first test to you all, now that you all have advanced to your second year here at St. (please someone tell me the name!) and the sacred first day where you will finally meet your familiars whom you will spend your life living as a nobleman."

Louise stayed staring at her wand as she ran through the ritual in her mind once more only for Kirche to once again attempt to spurn her anger.

"All set Louise?" she mocked as she leaned over Louise's shoulder, her _'assets' _bouncing for all to see. "I'm looking forward to what kind of amazing familiar you summon…"

Louise looked away as she attempted to keep herself calm, "Leave me alone…"

(-)

As students summoned their familiars one by one, Montmorency couldn't help but comment at the many strange and peculiar ones that were being summoned, from an owl with disproportionate eyes to a floating eye that seemed to be made of jelly.

"You needn't worry," entered the elaborately and shamelessly dressed Guiche, "I'm sure that you will summon an utterly cute and charming familiar my dear Montmorency. They say that the familiar that comes to the summoner, is the one that suits them the best in every way," he continued with an overzealous pose. "Someone like me will in all likelihood…"

"Next up," called Prof. Colbert interrupting Guiche's monologue.

"Beg your pardon," asked Guiche as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on before he realized what the comment meant, "That would be me Mr. Colbert, I am Guiche de Gramont…observe as I summon the finest familiar in the history of this institution…" he continued with a dramatic flourish…before summoning a giant mole.

The summoning continued with many an owl, parrot and lizard being summoned by various students. Kirche herself summoned a giant salamander which greatly impressed Colbert as well as the blue haired Tabitha summoning a dragon.

"Now, has everyone finished their summons?" The professor asked as he turned around to look at his many students.

"Not yet," replied Kirch with a haughty smirk, "Miss Valliere hasn't done it." She said before pointing out the pink haired girl who almost seemed to be hiding behind a group off chatty students.

{-}

A/N: Note: Van is pronounced Vaughn or Von.

**Unknown Dimension**

**Est. 15 min. after Emergency Escape of Van encounter at Earth **

**P.O.V. **_Ghost_

'_Oooh…did someone catch the registration number of that semi- that hit me?'_

I had a pounding headache that could only be compared to time I got drunk off my rocker at a friend's party. The only other time in memorable history that could compare to that, was when I got batted by a semi-trailer, cab and all…but that's a story for another time (and dimension).

I rubbed my head, trying to remember what manner of insane events led me to this point, when inspiration hit me once more, and again _literally…_

_*BAM*_

I felt the ground rock beneath me as my eyes flung open to see a large boulder hurtling my way.

_Son a Bitch!_

I released the mental expletive as I attempted to discern the origin of said boulder when suddenly…the lights went out.

_Okay seriously…what the frack is going on!_

Almost as soon as they disappeared, the lights returned…only to find myself in the middle of a burning forest. The smoke surrounded me faster than desert's flash rain could soak me. I glanced around as I reached up to cover my mouth so I wouldn't inhale the smoke, only to find that my hood and mask were still on, the special properties of the material filtering out any airborne contaminants. I quickly lowered my arm and lowered the peak of my hood so that it made contact, and merged seamlessly with my mask. I quickly began to mentally review the events that I could remember as I took stock of my supplies and weapons.

_A stupid gunshot wound, a mysterious portal and a small pack of the Renton Van…how could my day have gotten any worse?_

_*Cough Cough Wheeze*_

I spun around to find the source of the sound as I brought my arm to bear, my wrist blade now protruding from my bracers its full 10 inch length. I heard some branches breaking and the bushes rustling behind me, so I spun around quickly shielding myself with my unsheathed blade as well as materializing several throwing knives…or rather, attempting to.

As my hand reached out to the open air, and I searched for both my links to the natural world around me as well as my personal pocket dimensions, I could only gasp and collapse with pain as my chest flared up. I collapsed gasping as the shadow emerged from the smoke of the fires.

'_Ghost…that you?'_

I felt the slight touch a familiar mind to my own as I recognized the silhouette of the being.

"Saito?" I groaned aloud, attempting to get to my feet as wracks of pain ran through my body as if I had just gone through a week of nonstop exercise. _Mind you it wasn't really me but rather another being like me, but we were one in the same as well as the same being…we both existed and yet didn't so in fact we were…you know what? It's too complicated to explain on such short notice…maybe later._

"Shit Colonel, what the hell happened to you?" he asked as he ran over to me and put my arm around his shoulders. We started to limp away from the small clearing towards a hill that was nearby to ascertain our location as well as to escape the fire which had already scorched that area.

"I don't know Sergeant," I replied warily as I tried to determine myself just what had happened. I knew that my power had been drained suddenly prior to our entrance through the portal and into this land, as well as the fact that Saito's shard had activated itself even though it wasn't due for another 4 years. These factors told me that there were some extremely powerful forces at play, powerful enough to strip a fragmented Ghost of Existence of his power.

{-}

Usually even if I was at ¾ strength, I could take on an entire army with some difficulty but still come out victorious, and I was only a fragment acting on his lonesome. I had decided to travel on my own to explore some of the other dimensions that previous Shadows had discovered and fought to protect. I had stopped on Saito's Earth only to check up on the anti-terrorist organization that my nearest senior had set up long ago. I had decided to join a raid in my human form so as to not scare the living daylights out of any of the forces, as we had only existed in their legends and history. I had decided to tone down and store my power as to appear slightly above normal for a Spec Ops soldier as I was before I became a Shadow.

It was during this raid, that I discovered my current apprentice and close friend, Mr. Saito Hiraga at the young age of 15 years. To say that I was surprised to find a school bus load of children in a soon to be warzone, had prompted me to use a bit more of my power to ensure their safety. It wasn't until I had neared the bus and discovered the bodies of several terrorists, as well as being shot at when I entered the bus, that I found a young boy hovering over his friends with a Glock in hand and a dead terrorist at his feet. Once I had disarmed, I discovered that he had been on a field trip when the bus was suddenly hijacked and taken to this area. His teacher had been shot and killed for resisting their demands and several of the female students had been taken to be used as entertainment. It wasn't until his sister was threatened to service one of the _men_ right there in front of the class that Saito snapped and stole a pistol which he proceeded to fire repeatedly into the man and any others who attempted to board the bus.

I was pleasantly surprised at his ability to take charge of the students under the situation, and beyond livid at the mention of such young girls being made to do such things. I calmed down the class and assigned several of the raid members to protect and escort the class out of the danger area.

I then proceeded to infiltrate the small base and eliminated any personnel that I found with extreme prejudice. I held nothing back as I smashed their bodies into bloody pulps and made their comrades watch as I caved in their chests with single blows. At one point, someone had managed to throw a grenade at me and it detonated a nearby fuel canister, engulfing me in flames. I remember the searing heat that quickly transformed into a dull coolness that engulfed my body. I could hear the mongrels _cheering_ at my apparent demise, and laughed at their shocked faces as I emerged from the flames. No longer clad in my BDU's and body armor, but rather a menacing suit of pitch black armor.

I had received the suit as a prototype in my original dimension. Only a few had been manufactured and were insanely expensive, but they were the strongest and most powerful infantry portable armor that we could develop. Overtime of course, I had received upgrades for the armor, though most came from other dimensions and a close friend of mine who was the first dimension hopper that I had encountered. He was almost godlike in a sense but still held onto his original humanity and morals, even if he did have his own brand of insanity and goals.

My suit had originally had a miniature fusion reactor and recharging energy shields, which I had been shocked to learn actually came from another dimension and were introduced to mine by one of my predecessors. Since then, with the help of my insane friend and two other recently met shadows, my suit got upgrades that I would never have dreamed of. I discovered that the original armor had to have been toned down a great deal in order for normal humans to use it, but after my subsequent _'death' _and resurrection I was able to use the armor to its fullest abilities. The reactor was replaced with a 'slipspace' field that contained a mini star, and my shields were made to be able to sustain massive amounts of damage, and I mean _massive,_ before collapsing. Besides the additions to the built in weaponry of plasma blades and pocket space pouches, I was also allowed into _The Vault._

**{-}**

_Be warned that the following is part of a small amount of back-story and condensed information._

**Read at Your Own Risk of Confusion.**

_The Vault _is literally just that. It's a massive anomaly within the realms and usual sizes of pocket dimensions, and was the only space that was made available to all Shadows upon their induction. Rather, I should say that it is the only pocket space that is available to all of our kind. At first when I had met the originally Ghost of Existence and my most recent predecessor, I had only accessed it quickly with my mind to summon weapons and supplies during our battles against one of the last remaining Beings of Darkness. In the end it took the three of us and my companion to defeat him nearly at the cost of both our dimensions. Even then, we could not destroy him, as in the first war, aptly named the War of Creation, when he had been sealed away by the original a piece of the darkness latched onto him, melding itself into the Shadow. It was an ever present fear that one of our number of 300 could be turned by the piece that resided in us all. We wouldn't be turned to the point of the Darkness's return, but we would become insane and emotionless beings meant only to cause as much death and destruction as possible to our enemy at the time.

During our recovery the original Ghost, who asked to be called Mikhail, granted our newfound ally access to our Vault and for the first time in the short time after my hurried induction, I was able to enter the Vault physically and browse its near infinite halls of weapons, supplies, and relics. Of course there were safeguards as each section was separated and able to go into different dimension should it be breached, so all the items were separated evenly with contingencies since long before when there were only several dozen of the Ghosts. But the masses of items were not the Vault's only secrets no…imagine my surprise when I exited the area to find a peaceful landscape full of forests, mountains, farms, and lakes. The Vault was not only meant to safeguard materialistic objects, but also life as well. Entire forgotten species were preserved in their natural habitats along with know extinct ones waiting only for their numbers to increase before they could once again be introduced into their respective dimensions.

I had jokingly asked Mikhail if there were ever plans to perhaps make that part of the Vault accessible to the 'public' so to speak. I hadn't expected a serious answer, but he gave me an interesting one. He said that there had already been mention of trying that as well as opening a vacation resort and several cities within the Vault. He said that they had been debating the issue for the longest time and were slowly coming to a conclusion, but that the majority vote has been to somewhat go ahead with the plan, but not before even more contingencies, rules, plans, backup plans, and security measure were made in order to prevent the intrusions in the deadly areas of the Vault.

I was astounded at all the effort that the others, yet unknown to me, were making in order to prepare for every possible eventuality, Mikhail even gave me a condensed physical and digital pamphlet of the current plans and proceedings. Needless to say that I will never carry the physical one on my person as it is nearly to my waist in height. He told me that I should read most of it before the next meeting since I was now a part of their council. So as of that moment when I received the book there were 15 years until the next meeting as there were situations cropping up all over the place in the construction of the areas.

I was very interested in joining the proceedings, but I didn't want to get tied up at that point just yet, so instead I chose to do some dimension runs at the requests of other Shadows to check on their dimensions as they were too engrossed in their current activities.

**{-}**

I had only chosen a few so by luck Saito's dimension had actually been my last stop before returning to the Vault, but due to the circumstances I decided to ask permission from that dimension's Shadow if I could have a say in the situation. Surprisingly enough he had given me leave to do so as he had been granted the position of chief manager of the security plans, which meant literal mountains of paperwork, plans, blueprints, and tests of the security.

**Back to the story**

Emerging from the flames in my armor led to the immediate vacation of any bodily fluids that several of the terrorists had lost control of. I paid it no heed though as I tore them to shreds with only a knot of cold fury in my chest.

As I continued in my merciless campaign to utterly wipe the base and personnel from the map, I came across said girls who been taken recently for the amusement of the base's residents. All three were so hyped up on drugs, specifically powerful aphrodisiacs, that they took great offense when I slaughtered their current partners. I was so disgusted by the sight of these broken girls that I was almost crying with rage. My feelings were only further compounded upon when they tried to force themselves onto me not caring for the blood that coated the area. This pushed me over the edge and I locked away all of my feelings and settled for the cold goal of the bloody deaths of every single beast that remained on the base. First though, I had to solve the problem of the girls.

Looking at them, I felt nothing but sorrow and helplessness for there was nothing that I could do that would be able to help them, besides flushing the drugs out of their systems and getting them cleaned up and hopefully into the hands of the best psychological care that they could get from this world, before I sent a message to this dimension's Shadow.

Being from here, he had more control over the fabric of this world, that and I wasn't going to trust myself yet in the practice of memory wiping and artificial reconstruction when there was a high chance that I could permanently damage their minds. I would simply have them put into a chemically assisted coma until he could get here.

(-)

I had finally finished clearing out the base and was rooting through the main computers when I heard shuffling and clanging behind me. Had I not already spotted the boy in the base's camera system, I probably would have killed him in an instinctive reaction to what I faced so far. But I wasn't going to take out my anger on a mostly innocent teen, so I guided him to the control center as I redirected the rest of the raiding team to give us some time alone.

By now I had detected the presence of a Shadow's shard in the area and it wasn't until the boy had entered the base that I figured out just what contained it.

I was surprised at first, but it wasn't really unheard of for there to be multiple Shadows produced from one dimension, it was almost a regular occurrence in fact as they appeared every 1-3 hundred years or so; though the fact that it was present and slightly active within the boy brought a good amount surprise to me, but also some clarity to my thoughts on the matter. There would have no way that such a young kid would have been able to hold his own against a highly-trained force…unless he had help.

I sat in one of the command chairs as I closed off my mind in order to preserve my sanity, and removed my helmet so that I could vomit into one of the nearby trash-bins. I sat there warily as the teen entered the room with a pistol in hand and a rifle slung on his shoulder.

"Kid…we've got a lot to talk about."

{-}

**Present Time **

**Unknown Dimension**

"Yikes…"

"Damn…"

Saito and I were stunned at the destruction that spanned before us. We had only just clambered over a small hill to get to a better vantage point on the source of several smoke columns, when we were assaulted by the sights and sounds of a decimated land.

There were puddles of glass and molten rock strewn around as well as scorch marks and deep craters. Saito stood gaping at the destruction as I looked around to find out just where we were when I spotted something by a nearly destroyed tree line and couldn't believe what I saw.

There in a slightly damaged was a lone hooded figure kneeling in front of a pile of ashes. I realized just where we were when he disappeared. I had seen this landscape before only; I had been reliving Mikhail's memories at the time. This place was the site of his final confrontation with one of the few remaining members of the Darkness, but also the strongest. My eyes darted around as I tried to find out where he went, even though I already had a general idea.

I planted my gaze on a hill in the distance to be rewarded with the sight of my friend and mentor crawling his way up to reach its top.

"Ghost," Saito asked worriedly at my silence, "just who is that guy?"

I looked over to him and smiled my first genuine smile in a few years.

"That, kid, was the most stubborn and unforgiving bastard you will ever meet."

His eyes flew wide as he started to remember the short stories I would tell his about my past.

"You don't mean…"

"Yep," I nodded as I let go of his shoulder and started to make my way towards the hill with a limp, "That…is my friend and mentor, the original Ghost of Existence…Mikhail."

(-)

As we reached the crest of the hill I could just make out the prone form of the original Ghost. He was lying on his back gazing up at the sky with his knife embedded in a small mound of dirt near his head. I already knew what he had done and what was going to happen, but I withheld the information to see what Saito's reaction would be.

He had already heard my tale on the memories that I would experience before I had met Mikhail and Michael, the latter first. He had a very vague idea on what we were about to experience as well as his own theories on where we were.

"Whe…" he started.

He got cut off by the immediate sounds of earth churning and got knocked on his ass from the sudden burst of pure energy and erupted from the mound. I barely managed to stay on my feet in my weakened state and watched in awe as a tree started to grow at an impossible rate from a seed for a very literal Tree of Life. I looked up at the swirling clouds and watched as the dark, rusty red clouds that enveloped the sky began to clear away. I had already seen this before from Mikhail's perspective, but seeing it from the outside was truly something else.

I looked back at Saito who was still lying on his ass staring at the clouds as the night sky became clear before us. I shook my head at the awed expression he had on his face as he watched a literal miracle taking place.

'_Hmph…humans are so easy to surprise, show them something that they think is impossible and expect them to be groveling at your feet.'_

I shook the line out of my head; it was one of the few thoughts that my second fragment had released to me so far, and seeing as they came from the Darkness itself, I couldn't afford to dwell on them. I looked back at the relaxed for of my mentor and watched as the still growing tree engulfed him into its in order to save him. I smiled recalling his annoyance at the fact that Michael and I had to dig him out from underneath it.

(-)

_Zwang…Pop!_

My eyes darted around as the unfamiliar sound echoed across the open fields until they settled on another glowing green portal about 1 ½ miles to the South. I started to speak when I heard the sound of shuffling as Saito jumped to his feet and moved to get a better view of it.

I was about to join him when my left leg suddenly collapsed under me and I supported myself on the trunk of the unnaturally huge tree. Saito turned around and started to move back to help me when a single mortifying sound tore through the plains.

"_RARGH! INTO THE NEW WORLD MY WARRIORS!"_

We both froze as we saw a group of shapes rush from what remained of the forest towards the portal. I couldn't see them clearly through the haze that still hung over the plain, but I only needed their voice.

_Van!_

I grabbed Saito by the shoulder and handed him my knife before speaking.

"You need to get there before them, no matter the cost!"

He stared at me incredulously and looked at the distance between us and the portal, before starting to open his mouth.

"I don't care how far it seems," I interrupted him, "your shard activated early and that means you can get there in time if you go now!"

"What the hell do mean it activated early? It's not…"

"It doesn't matter," I yelled before shoving him off the hill, "now move Sergeant MOVE!"

As I pulled rank on him, I watched as he shot off at a speed that no normal human could attain. I smiled grimly knowing that he'd be surprised for a bit before his training took over. I moved back to the tree and thought about where we were.

There was no way that we had traveled back in time and switched dimensions at the same time from such a low power portal, it just wasn't possible. But if my assumptions were correct, then we were in an inter-dimension, meaning a sort of crossroads in between several dimensions; a pit stop if you will. Which meant that this particular one was able to replay either memories or certain key points in the dimensions it connected.

'_I wonder…,' _I thought as I reached out to touch the bark of the tree.

'_If this war-torn battlefield was actually a reflection of the past, then there should still be some…'_

"Aha," I exclaimed as I made contact with the tree and felt a pool of energy inside of it, small but still enough for my needs.

_Thank you Mikhail for connected all of the trees!_

I smiled as I tapped into the pool and felt my aches and pains wash away as if in a hot spring.

_Wait a sec! I've never been in a hot spring before…I wonder whose memory that one is?_

I was about to dwell into the memory when I got an electrical shock… from the tree no less.

_Oi! Don't you have something to do?_

_What the hell? Is that tree talking to me?_

I pulled my hand away from the tree and felt my leg start to twitch so I put my hand down to steady it. I started to root through my memories when I remembered one all important fact. The original tree that Mikhail had planted was sentient and liked the name Mack.

_Damn right he did! Now I may not be as smart as 'ol Mack but even I know that ya need to go 'an do somethin' young'un._

_Hey! Who the hell are you callin'…_

_Don't get feisty with me shadow, I may be a crude reflection of Mack, but it doesn't mean I will accept a young'uns insolence! Now get moving soldier! Git'!_

_ZZZzzz!_

"God damn it!" I started yelling as it felt like someone slapped me with a cattle prod.

_Fine…then allow 'ol Ed here to give ya a boost._

I stood there wondering what he meant by that when several rings of golden light surrounded me.

_Ah think the 'ol Tele' goes somethin' like this!_

I took me a second to realize what he was trying to do as I remembered just how bad Mack's teleports were. I started to refuse when I felt something drop into my pocket.

_It might not be as strong as Mack's, but it should do…bye bye!_

_You sonuva…Pfft!_

{-}

**Saito**

After Saito started running, he almost tripped once he realized how fast he was going, but all that soon faded as his training came into play. He had been given an order and he would fulfill it, especially because whatever these things were, they seemed to scare Ghost and that wasn't a good sign.

He watched as he neared and then passed the rushing group of beasts on their way to the portal and stopped a good 50 ft. in front of it before turning around both knives at the ready. He planned that he would try to delay them long enough for Ghost to catch up and prevent as many as he could from entering the portal, and under no circumstances would he let one of them go first.

Saito watched as the beasts, which he had Ghost call Van, stopped in front of him only seven in number. They were all breathing heavily and looked disheveled and covered in mud. He started to wonder what ehy were waiting for when a flash of golden light erupted next to him.

{-}

**Tristain**

**Magic Academy's Courtyard**

Louise stood in the middle of a choral of students who were all muttering different phrases meant to anger and make fun of her, yet she stayed calm through most of it, even Kirche's smitten remark as to how Louise's familiar would compare to her own.

Louise pulled out her wand and started chanting an impressive line of incantations until she finally finished with "**O, Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning and bring forth my familiar!**"

_(Ya'll might want ta' take cover like…NOW!)_

_***BOOM***_

{-}

_**Ghost**_

When I appeared once again I immediately felt the blood rush to my head. I almost started to wonder why I was standing on stars when I landed unceremoniously on my head.

I picked myself up off the ground only to see that both Saito and the Van were staring at me; Saito gaping like a fish and the Van almost looked…_scared._

I looked down to my feet when I realized that I was no longer in my cloak but rather in my full suit of armor. I glanced at Saito and depolarized my visor to show him that it was me.

"So that's what…" he started.

I raised my hand to shut him up as I turned to face the Van and raised my fists as blades made of plasma erupted from my gauntlets. The Van tensed up ready to rush us and Saito steadied his stance when the worst possible thing happened…

"Ghost HELP!"

I yanked myself around to see Saito being pulled into the portal by what seemed to be tendrils of the energy that made up the portal.

_Shit!_

I powered down my left plasma dagger and grabbed a knife sheathed at my waist before throwing it at the tendrils. I watched as the knife sailed true and…_bounced off._

I was stunned for a moment before I heard the sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps behind me. I turned around to engage the Van' and had to watch out of the corner of my eye as Saito was pulled ever closer to the gaping maw of energy.

_Ghost…what are you doing?_

I didn't reply at first, I was too busy dodging the attacks of the two Van' in front of me as I snapped the next of the one I was currently holding. I was trying to think of all the possible materials that could deflect one of my blades, and found none that I knew of that resembled the energy coming from the portal. I dodged another strike and felt it glance off of my armor as I followed it up with a left uppercut to the Van's jaw. I could feel its jaw breaking from the impact, and I could hear his neck snapping from the force, and immediately switched my stance to deliver a massive reverse kick to the unarmored chest of the Van' behind me.

I barely registered the fact that he was coughing up blood as he fell backwards as I engaged another that was rushing from my left. Spinning on the ball of my foot I delivered a punishing roundhouse kick to its face followed by a right hook powered by my momentum.

It lifted both arms to block my kick, but I felt the limbs break under the force of the kick. As he dropped his arms, I unleashed the force of my punch into his throat and felt all of the soft cartilage be pulverized and the bones of neck break.

I turned around to face the other three as they spread out in an attempt to surround me, and barely caught the glimmer of movement out of the corner of my eye. My arms were already coming up in an attempt to block the incoming blow when a Van holding a giant hammer of sorts shimmered into existence. I loosened my stance slightly in order to absorb the force of the blow and counter quickly, but caught the glowing blue lines too late.

I realized just what the Van was holding as it made contact with my arms, the force of the weapon throwing me head over heels towards the portal.

_Damn it all…a Gravity Hammer? How in the name of creation did the Van get one of those? Though now that I think of it, their resemblance to the Jiralhanae is astounding!_

I shook my head in an attempt to get my scrambled thoughts and pulled myself to my hands and knees. As my mind seemed to arrange itself into a more cohesive form, I glanced up and watched as the lead one approached me. I could see his smile at the sight of this mighty Demon being laid to the floor by his blow. I started to stand up when a slight whistling sound interrupted my thoughts and I let myself have a grim smile as I recognized the sound.

_Thunk!_

I stood up and watched as the Van' that had, only moments before, been gloating over me, was falling to the ground in a crumpled heap, a combat knife protruding from his face. I smiled and proceeded to go after the remaining, with their own hammer, no less.

_Nice one kid…_

_Thanks Ghost…oh an' by the way?_

_Aye? _I turned slightly to see him waving at me a mear 2 feet from the portal.

_I don't want to be stuck I new dimension by myself so could you hurry up?_

_Is that any way to talk to a superior officer? _I asked before turning back to the Van'.

_Only if it's the last time I'll be seeing him. _He replied worriedly.

I sighed as I snapped the neck of the second to last Van, and glanced at him one more time as he continued to struggle against the portal.

_Don't worry kid, I won't abandon you, so go ahead an' get through; see what kind of mess we'll be getting ourselves into._

He smiled, '_Got it sir.'_

I watched as he let himself relax and bee taken by the portal only for it to snap shut behind him.

_Sigh…at least I got the energy signature so I can at least follow him._

I turned my attention back to the last remaining Van' and smiled.

_Now how to get rid of you?_


End file.
